heaven is a place on earth
by Hannaadi88
Summary: Lotor and Lance, a team of seasoned demon hunters, are in pursuit of their latest mark- an alastor wreaking havoc at a vacation resort. Seeing that an alastor is a lower-class demon, it shouldn't take much effort to purify it. Perhaps they can even enjoy a much-needed vacation at the resort. Or so they thought.


"Stop it, Lotor. We're on vacation, remember?"

Lotor blinks and turns to look at Lance. "Stop what?"

Though he can't see them behind those large sunglasses, Lotor knows Lance well enough to know that he's rolling his eyes as he crosses his legs on the chaise lounge. He sets his drink down on one of Lotor's books before gesturing to the group of beachgoers wetting their feet in the water in front of them.

"Y'know, searching."

Lotor's lips curve in an amused smile as he sits back in his own chair. While the beach does paint a pretty picture, relaxation hadn't been on their minds when they'd gotten this assignment. Or, well, it hadn't been on his mind. Lance, however…

"We aren't actually on vacation," he reminds in a low tone. Lotor knows that it's far too noisy on the beach for anyone to overhear their conversation, but one can never be too careful. "The sea _is _rather picturesque, but we're still on the clock, Lance. The idea is for us to find him."

Lance shakes his head with his own sly smile. That smile never led to anything good, but oh, how Lotor adores it.

"I know _that _, silly. But we're supposed to look like we're on a relaxing vacation, right?"

"Right…?"

"Well, you're not looking relaxed enough!" Lance declares and picks up Lotor's untouched drink. He takes a quick sip of the Pina Colada and hums thoughtfully before handing it back to Lotor.

"It could be a little sweeter, but we paid good money for these drinks. You shouldn't waste the Agency's money."

Lotor accepts the drink silently and tries not to think about how Lance's lips had just been around the straw that he's now placing between his own. He takes a long sip and wrinkles his nose.

"What's wrong?"

"It's too sweet," Lotor huffs and sets his drink down next to Lance's. He looks up and catches Lance shaking his head at him.

"There's no such thing as too sweet."

Lotor snorts and leans back in his chair, lowering his shades to cover his eyes from their perch on the top of his head. Now that his eyes are hidden, he feels safe enough to take a proper look at his partner-from his naked chest to his long, bare legs crossed on the chaise lounge. He's suddenly rather thankful to their mark for choosing to exploit humans in this beach resort.

"I suppose we shall have to agree to disagree," Lotor says eventually and turns his gaze back to the group of beachgoers. He cannot allow himself be distracted. Not even by a human like Lance whose specialty was distraction.

"He's not here," he adds after another minute of silent surveillance. He turns to Lance with a sigh. "We should head back to the hotel and prepare for tonight."

Lance sits up and pulls off his sunglasses. Lotor raises a dubious brow- it cannot have been that easy to convince Lance to leave the beach. His suspicions are proven correct as Lance bats his eyelashes at him with a pout.

"Aw, c'mon Lotor, we just got here! I didn't even get a tan!"

"Of course you haven't, we've been sitting in the shade all this time."

Lance huffs. "That's beside the point. We've barely even-"

"Lance," Lotor cuts him off and stands up. "I know you're enjoying yourself, but there's a lot we need to do before we can make our move. We don't have time to laze about in the sun. You know that," he chastises.

Lance's shoulders sag as he stands up as well. He looks at the waves for a long moment before sighing wistfully and turning to collect his things.

"You're right. We've got a job to do."

Lotor quietly watches as Lance collects their books and magazines, worrying his lip as he considers his partner. He knows how much Lance loves the sea, and how little of it he saw during their missions. It hurts him to see Lance disappointed- Lance was usually so cheerful, so vibrant. His excitement was absolutely endearing. To take it away from him was a crime.

But they really don't have the time to linger.

Nevertheless, Lotor is determined to bring the smile back to Lance's face. He reaches out and gently grasps Lance's shoulder, grabbing his attention as Lance turns from his efforts of folding up his chair to look at him curiously.

"This alastor shouldn't be too difficult to purify," Lotor says slowly. "The Agency gave us three days to finish with him, though, just in case. If we get him tonight…well, the Agency doesn't have to be immediately notified."

Lance's eyes widen in understanding.

"So does that mean we can-"

"Yes," Lotor says warmly and releases Lance's shoulder. "I should think we deserve a real vacation. And if you want to spend the whole day at the beach, then that's what we'll do."

"Hell, yeah!"

Lance's grin is infectious. Lotor returns the smile as he watches Lance do a little victory dance- more of a twirl, really. It was silly, but Lotor's heart almost skips a beat as Lance stops and meets his gaze.

"Promise? No backing out?"

"I promise," Lotor confirms before finding himself enveloped in Lance's embrace. He stills and holds his breath as Lance squeezes him before unwinding his arms from around his neck and steps back with a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, I'm just really excited," Lance explains and clears his throat. "Anyway! We've got a demon to catch! Last one to the room is a rotten egg!"

Lotor blinks after Lance's retreating form before shaking his head with a chuckle. He bends down to collect the items Lance abandoned and slowly makes his way back to the hotel, making sure to keep Lance in sight.

He truly has it bad.

.x.

Lotor considers the rosé in his glass, swirling it around for a moment before taking a sip. Ah, much better than that sugar bomb Lance practically forced down his throat at the beach. Why assault your pallet with a myriad of flavors when you can enjoy one at a time? One can hardly appreciate the individual flavors when they were all mixed indistinguishably together.

Though, Lotor muses, if humans had flavors, Lance would be rather hard to miss. He'd easily be the dominant tone- all others paled in comparison. Even now, from where Lotor was sitting in a secluded corner with a good view of the bar, it was easy to see how Lance drew people's attention. That's why he made the perfect bait.

Whether it was his tight suit, infectious laughter or his brilliant smile, Lance attracted the gazes of most of the bar's patrons. He'd already made friends with the bartender and put on quite the show- ever the talkative, attentive and flirtatious conversationalist. Lotor knows by now that most of it came naturally. Lance was a friendly guy by nature, always curious about other people.

What Lotor used to consider incessant questioning came very much in handy while trying to get information. After working a few cases with Lance, Lotor soon learned that the quickest way to get someone to talk was to sit them down next to Lance. Demons and humans alike.

That's one thing they all shared in common. The base need to talk about themselves, but most importantly- to have someone to listen.

Lotor silently observes how Lance rests his hand on the arm of his conversation partner, seemingly oblivious to the effect it had on him. Lotor snorts. Poor guy. Luckily for him, he wasn't Lance's target for the evening.

No, this wasn't a regular night out at the hotel bar. It never was with them. They're on the job, and putting quite a bit of effort into it. Lance took two hours to get ready, and Lotor took just as long setting up the purification circle in their room.

The plan is simple: wait for the alastor to appear, seduce it and lead it back up to their hotel room. Once it was inside, commence the purification ritual and rid the vacation resort of its local demon. Easy.

Lance was on the seduction, of course. Lotor had a 'gift', so to say, of recognizing demons, and had an arsenal of rituals he could perform on the spot. Once he'd see the alastor, he'd signal to Lance and their operation will be underway. Lotor hums and ghosts his hand over his hip, where his gun was hidden in its discreet holster.

He doubts he'll need the holy water bullets tonight, but he refuses to take any chances. Not when Lance's safety is at stake.

Lotor is about to flag down a waitress when he sees it- or rather, him. The alastor enters the room in the guise of a short, muscular man with an impressive mustache. Lotor wrinkles his nose. Out of all the appearances the demon could've chosen, he decided on _that _?

No matter. He'll be purified within the hour and the world will be spared the sight of that horrible mustache.

Lotor waits for Lance to look in his direction and catches his eye, nodding discreetly at the alastor. Lance doesn't need to nod back in order for Lotor to know that he'd understood. They've been working together for years now, and learned each other's body language by heart. Sure enough, Lance diverts his attention to the alastor the moment he sits down at the bar next to him.

So Lance was going to go with the _Overwhelming _tactic tonight? That was probably a good choice. Someone with the alastor's chosen appearance usually wouldn't even hope to get Lance's attention. Ignoring him from the start and playing it hard to get would only serve to discourage him.

Lotor is too far away to hear the conversation, but he has a good idea of what is being said. Lance might be a smooth-talker, but he recycled a lot of his material. By the way the alastor was looking absolutely smitten, Lotor is willing to bet that Lance had already told him that he'd been waiting for someone like him to show up tonight. Any minute now and- ah, yes, there it was.

Lance was leaning over and whispering in the alastor's ear, whose face promptly reddened and nodded. Lance catches Lotor's eye and pushes away from the counter. The alastor follows.

Lance had asked the alastor back up to his room, and this was Lotor's cue to discreetly tail them until they open the door. Once they did he'd have to move quickly. Lotor has a feeling Lance really doesn't want to entertain this demon a moment longer than absolutely necessary.

So Lotor follows, ignoring the routine jealousy of seeing someone else's arm wrapped around Lance's waist as they walk towards the elevator. Lotor is used to it by now, but he's always less than thrilled to witness their marks' PDA. He climbs the stairs quickly, determined to see this through and treat Lance to a proper dinner.

All on the Agency's dime, of course.

When he reaches the third floor, Lotor hides behind the corner and watches as Lance fiddles with the room key, the alastor practically plastered across his back, pressing kisses to the back of his neck. But when the door opens, the alastor stops and takes a step back.

"Come," Lance walks into the room and smiles invitingly at the alastor. "I think I've still got half a champagne bottle in the mini fridge."

Lotor can't see the alastor's face from this angle, but his voice sounds nervous.

"I dunno…"

Lance raises a brow and steps forward, wrapping his arms around the alastor's neck.

"Don't you want to keep me company tonight?"

The alastor raises his hands as if to settle them on Lance's hips, but at the last moment seems to think better of it and pulls away from Lance's grasp, whose eyes widen in alarm.

"I don't think I should."

"What's wrong?" Lance asks, and though he doesn't dare seek Lotor's gaze out in the open, Lotor knows Lance is panicking. He'd gladly intervene and shove the alastor into the room himself, but a couple just walked out of the elevator and were currently taking their sweet time talking in the hallway.

The last thing he and Lance need are witnesses to what would very much look like assault. Lotor really doesn't want a repeat of Venice.

Still, it takes most of his self-control to reign himself back and not leap out from his corner to secure the alastor in the room when the demon turns away from Lance with a stiff smile and walks away. Lotor watches him closely, holding his breath as the alastor pauses just by his hiding spot and narrows his eyes before shuffling down the hall and back to the elevator.

Lotor frowns. How very unusual. Had the alastor sensed his presence?

Shaking his head, Lotor steps out from behind the corner and walks over to Lance, who was still standing in the doorway, looking more confused than Lotor had ever seen him. He purses his lips when their eyes meet and waits for Lotor to stand in front of him before speaking in a hushed tone, mindful of the human couple nearby.

"What the hell just happened?"

Lotor shrugs. He isn't too sure himself.

"He must've sensed the purification circle I set up. Its aura most likely spooked him."

Lance huffs. "That never happened before. You always contain the aura, don't you? Your circles are flawless."

While Lotor is very pleased that Lance thinks so highly of him, that still doesn't change the fact that something tipped the alastor off and scared it away.

"It must be more powerful than we thought," Lotor theorizes and nods in the direction of the circle he'd set up in the middle of the room. "Maybe I overlooked something."

Lance sighs and steps back, allowing Lotor to enter the room before closing the door behind him, locking it for good measure. He hovers in the background as Lotor carefully crouches in front of the fully-formed circle, observing it intently without actually touching it. If Lance found it odd, he didn't comment about it. Then again, he did apparently think that Lotor was a circle master or something along those lines.

"Hey, Lotor…"

Lotor squints at the sigil he'd drawn in the middle of the circle. Was that line crooked? No, he's just looking at it from the wrong angle.

"Hmm?"

"I, um…you don't think I, well…"

Something in Lance's voice makes Lotor tear his gaze away from the circle and look at Lance, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. He looked tired.

"I don't think what?"

Lance clears his throat and looks away.

"You don't think _I _scared him off, do you?"

Shocked, Lotor looks at Lance incredulously for a long moment. Lance seized the chance to ramble, as he always did. He hated silences.

"I mean, I came onto him pretty strong. Not everyone likes that. And maybe he got cold feet? He looked interested, but the minute it was going to get real, maybe he realized he didn't actually want to sleep with me? Maybe he thought I was a mistake he'd regret in the morning? What if-"

Lotor immediately stands up and crosses the room to sit down next to Lance on the bed, grasping his hand and squeezing it.

"You cannot be serious," he admonishes. "You saw how besotted he was with you. An alastor's purpose is to wreak havoc and lead mortals to sin. A night with you would've been a wet dream come true for him," Lotor adds, a little bitterly. Lance looks at him skeptically.

"But he bolted- he didn't even want to look at me!"

Lotor sneers. Stupid demon. Walking into the room with Lance would've cost the alastor his life, but at least he might've been able to score a kiss. A kiss from Lance was worth far more than a miserable, demonic existence.

"Lance," Lotor raises his other hand and cups Lance's cheek, turning his head to face him fully. "You're the most attractive person I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Whatever made that demon run most certainly had nothing to do with you. I saw the way he looked at you. That alastor would've had you against the wall if you would've allowed it."

It's only when Lance's cheeks flush that Lotor realizes how vulgar his words had been- he never said those kind of things, never in front of Lance. But it was true. The alastor had looked like he wanted to devour Lance the moment he set his eyes on him. It had to be something else that sent him flying.

It had to be a higher-class demon. Or maybe just an exceptionally powerful alastor. Lotor hadn't made a mistake with the circle.

It is also only now that Lotor can feel the heat radiating off Lance's cheeks that he notices how close they are. And yet, Lance hadn't pulled away.

"You're not just saying all that to make me feel better, are you?"

Lotor shakes his head wordlessly, mouth suddenly very dry. He could very easily kiss Lance like this.

But he won't.

He'd never do anything to hurt Lance. And being together? Hell, he dreamed about it all the time. Wanted to hold, claim, care for and _own _Lance like nothing he's ever wanted before. But that can never happen.

Not even when he and Lance lock eyes and Lance starts to lean forward.

Lotor quickly releases Lance's cheek and hand and pulls away, standing up and rushing in the direction of the door. He cannot look back.

"I'll try to find out which room the alastor is staying in," he calls over his shoulder just before he leaves.

He doesn't get an answer.

By the time he returns to their room an hour later, unsuccessful in his half-hearted search, Lance is already asleep in his bed, curled up with his back to the door. Lotor gazes at him for a long moment before turning away with a heavy heart and preparing himself for bed as well.

.x.

Lance doesn't bring up the previous night once they wake up and go about their day. Lotor is grateful for it, but he can't help but hate the distance he feels Lance put between them- though he understands very well why it was needed. In fact, despite resenting it, Lotor is a little relieved. It wasn't easy spending so much time with the person you loved, yet being unable to act on it.

Perhaps this was for the best. Lotor doesn't like it, but he's seriously starting to consider asking for a reassignment once they finish this mission. Parting ways from Lance after years of working together was going to painful, but necessary. Rejection and heartache wasn't a good combination and Lotor knows it'll impact their performance in the field.

But for now, they still have an alastor to purify. They need a new plan.

Since the alastor recognized Lance, he unfortunately cannot be used as bait again. And now that the demon was aware that he was being hunted, they needed to act fast before it fled.

Lance and Lotor agree on a direct approach- now that they know what the alastor looks like, they can both search for him throughout the resort. Once they find him, they'll rendezvous and take him out together. Just like old times.

It was rather appropriate for what was most likely going to be their last mission together.

Lotor gets the call while searching around the pool area. The sun is shining brightly in the sky, sharing one last wave of brilliant light before preparing to set for the night. Lotor looks at the blend of orange and red before answering his phone.

"Hello?"

"I found him," he can hear Lance's rushed whisper from the other side of the line. "You need to come down to the beach ASAP."

Lotor's other hand immediately searches for his gun, making sure it's still on him.

"Stay where you are, I'll be right there."

Lotor ends the call and rushes through the hotel, making his way to the beach. He knows Lance is armed with his own pistol and holy water bullets as well, and that he's even a better shot than him. But that doesn't stop Lotor from anxiously speeding his steps.

The holy water only did so much to slow a demon down. Without Lotor's purification ritual, there were very few alternate ways to subdue the alastor, and Lance wasn't capable of any of them.

He was only human, after all.

Thankfully, Lotor finds Lance waiting for him, unharmed, next to an ice cream truck. He's licking off the last bit of his cone when Lotor arrives.

Lotor looks away. He cannot afford to be distracted by Lance's seductive eating habits.

"He's over there," Lance nods in the direction of the sea. Lotor follows his gaze and nods as well as he spots the alastor walking along the shoreline with a woman beside him. He turns back to look at Lance questioningly.

Lance gives him a look.

"What, do you think I'm stupid? He hasn't made a move on her yet. You know I would've done something if he'd so much as touched her."

Lance's tone is accusing, and Lotor quickly attempts to placate him. Just because they're somewhat on the outs doesn't mean that they could waste their time bickering.

"You're right, I apologize," Lotor says, and that seems enough for now. Lance gives him a curt nod and they both turn to look at the alastor.

He was almost out of sight.

Lotor doesn't need to say anything- both he and Lance immediately start to follow, keeping a safe distance from the pair while observing them intently. They cannot attack the alastor quite yet. Though the sun was setting, there were still a number of people walking around on the beach.

They tail the alastor and the woman for a good ten minutes until he stops at a remote section of the beach, partially hidden by rocks and a few trees. A perfect spot for lovers to enjoy one another without being seen.

A perfect spot for a demon to feast on a human without their screams being heard. Lotor wonders how many humans lost their lives in this very spot to the alastor.

He and Lance crouch behind a large rock, waiting for the right moment to strike. They cannot afford to miss and accidentally hurt the woman instead, or have him use her as a shield.

Though the bullets only held holy water, they could be dangerous to anyone.

Lotor holds his breath and slowly reaches for his gun. The alastor had leaned down to kiss the woman but paused, quickly turning around and heading in Lotor and Lance's direction. Damn, he'd sensed his presence.

Meeting Lance's eyes, they share a quick look before standing up and firing at the same time. The woman shrieks and the alastor howls as the bullets burn his shoulders.

"You!" He hisses, looking at Lance. "I knew you were a hunter! Thought you and your demon sidekick could trick me?"

Lotor narrows his eyes as the alastor turns to look at him.

"Have you no pride, working with a human to hunt down your brothers and sisters?"

"Shut up!" Lance yells, shooting another bullet at the alastor's side. "What the hell are you talking about? And you-" he addresses the woman, who was cowering behind the alastor. "-run! Go as far as you can and don't look back!"

The woman doesn't need to be told twice. She scrambles to her feet and runs past the paralyzed alastor, who for some reason doesn't look too angry about being robbed his dinner. Lotor's skin crawls at the sight of him. He doesn't like the way he's looking at Lance at all.

"Wait, you don't know?" The alastor's mustache rises grotesquely with his wide grin. In that moment, he doesn't look anything like a human. "That's absolutely precious."

He turns to Lotor and gives him a knowing look he has no right to wear.

"You didn't tell him, did you?"

Lotor's mouth grows dry. No. This wasn't how he'd wanted Lance to find out. He'd never meant for him to find out, period. Lotor's mind runs through a dozen possible explanations and excuses, anything to make sure Lance doesn't believe a word the alastor says. There's denial on his tongue when he feels Lance grab his arm.

"Lotor, what's he talking about?" Lance's voice is spiked with panic as he looks at him, wide-eyed.

_How does a person become a demon, Lotor? They don't really teach you about that at the Agency. Do you think you're given a choice?_

Lotor freezes as a memory resurfaces. Lance's words, casual and bored on a hot afternoon drive.

"Poor human," the alastor croons. "How can you call yourself a hunter when you couldn't even tell that your own partner is a demon?"

_I think I'd rather die than become some ugly, evil servant of hell. How about you?_

That's it. Lotor needs to end this, now.

"Silence!" He orders and reaches into his pocket for a pen, intending to use it to draw the purification circles lines in the sand around the paralyzed alastor. But the demon's eyes flash and a moment later he's on top of Lance, shoving him face-down into the ground.

Lotor freezes. How had the alastor been able to move with the holy water in his system? That shouldn't be possible!

Lance's frantic cry pierces through the air and snaps Lotor into action. The alastor's razor sharp teeth are dangerously near Lance's neck. Lotor growls, seeing red.

He rushes at the demon, latching to his back and forcefully yanking him off of Lance. He's successful, but only just. It takes everything in his power to keep the alastor from reaching for Lance, who was still sprawled on the sand, looking at them both with wide, terrified eyes.

Lotor grimaces as he feels his fangs and horns manifest themselves as he summons his demonic strength to keep the alastor pinned down. He knows exactly why Lance is so scared and confused, but he needs to snap out of it.

"Lance!" He barks, digging his elongated nails into the alastor's shoulder wound. "You have to get out of here!"

That seems to shake Lance out of his stupor. He picks himself up on trembling legs and meets Lotor's gaze, unsure.

"Now!"

"I-I can't leave you!" Lance insists, gasping as the alastor tries to flip them over, but Lotor maintains his hold. Lance is visibly pale, but Lotor can practically see his resolve strengthen by the second. "I _won't _leave you!"

Lotor shakes his head, exasperated. He admires Lance's desire to stay and help, but he really doesn't want Lance to witness what he's about to do.

Purification circles were a human's only tool to killing demons, but other demons had a choice of ways to get rid of another demon. None of them were very pleasant to watch.

"I said get out!" Lotor hisses. "You're just a human, I can't let you-ugh!"

Lance screams as the alastor successfully flips them over, much to Lotor's shock. He tries to push him off, but the alastor's talons are digging into his ribs, causing him to cry out in pain. Lotor struggles and vaguely registers the sound of bullets being shot, probably by Lance, but neither he nor Lance is able to stop the alastor from piercing his flesh and biting at his throat.

Sharp, burning pain consumes Lotor, drawing pained growls and screams as he continues to try to make it stop. He can't see or hear Lance anymore and he can only hope that it means that Lance finally made the smart decision to run. If his death meant giving Lance a chance at getting away and saving himself, then Lotor can die without regrets.

Resigning himself to his fate, Lotor stops struggling. But instead of feeling even more pain, Lotor hears a loud bang. The alastor screams and topples off Lotor, twisting in agony on the sand before finally going still.

Dead.

Curious, Lotor groans and turns on his side, freezing as he sees two guns pointed at him. He looks up and grits his teeth as he meets the eyes of a man and a woman. They looked back down at him with grim smiles.

Where had he seen them before?

"Don't shoot!"

Lotor perks up at Lance's voice. He raises his arm to his torso, trying to hide the damage the alastor had done to him. He doesn't want Lance to worry. He coughs and something wet sprays over his lips and dribbles down his chin.

Blood. How charming.

"Move out of our way," the blond woman orders Lance. "It's dangerous, that demon isn't dead yet."

Lance stays put.

"I'm not going anywhere. That's my partner and he just saved my life!"

The man snorts.

" _We _just saved your life. You have a nasty habit of attracting demons, y'know. First you invite that alastor into your hotel room, and now you're saying _this _demon is your partner?" The man shakes his head. "You're obviously a novice hunter. Don't worry, we'll clean up your mess."

Wait a minute. This was the couple Lotor had seen in the hallway just before the alastor ran off. No wonder they looked familiar. So they were hunters as well? Interesting. Lotor wonders what kind of weapon they used to kill the alastor. Now wouldn't be the best time to ask, though.

Lotor is about to just tell Lance not to bother and let the hunters do their job when Lance raises his gun and aims it at the pair. His eyes widen in alarm.

"Lance, no!"

"I suggest you leave," Lance says calmly, ignoring Lotor's outburst. "Right now."

The pair consider them for a long moment before the woman bursts into laughter.

"Are you seriously threatening us with a _holy water gun _?"

Lance doesn't say a word. He keeps his gun trained on the hunters.

The man is the first to lower his gun, much to Lotor's shock.

"C'mon, Nyma," he pats the woman on the shoulder. "This isn't worth our time. That demon is gonna die soon anyway."

The woman stays still for another long moment before sighing and lowering his gun as well.

"Whatever. Let's go find that poor girl the alastor tried to feed on. I really hope she didn't go to the cops- I _hate _those nosy uniforms."

Lotor can feel their stares for one last time before they turn around and walk away. Lance doesn't lower his gun until they're too far to get a clear shot. Once they disappear from view, he immediately falls to his knees next to Lotor and snakes his arm under Lotor's shoulder blades, holding him to his chest.

"I'm sorry for lying to you," Lotor breaks the silence, trying not to let the pain seep into his voice. By the expression on Lance's face, he hadn't done a very good job.

"We're not talking about this now," he can see the tears well in Lance's eyes. "You can explain everything when you're better."

Lotor chuckles, which turns into another wet cough. The panic is clear as day in Lance's eyes.

"You _are _gonna get better," Lance insists, tightening his grasp on Lotor's back. "I won't let you die on me!"

Lotor looks at him silently, at a loss for words. They both know he's out of time.

"Damn it! Work with me, Lotor!" Lance's voice cracks. "There has to be something I can do!"

"I wish-"

Lotor coughs, but for once Lance doesn't fill the silence with words. He waits patiently for Lotor to continue, eager to hear what he has to say.

"I wish I hadn't been a coward and kissed you last night."

Now that he's dying, there's no point hiding his feelings anymore. At least Lance will now know how much he meant to him.

Lance's eyes widen and those tears finally start to fall. A small sob escapes his throat and he leans down, burying his face in Lotor's neck. Lotor wants nothing more than to raise his hand and rub Lance's back, to comfort him, but every breath takes a lot out of him.

He wants to spend as long as he can with Lance before his soul is swallowed by the void.

"There's so much blood," Lance whispers against his skin. "I don't, I can't…I don't know how to save you, Lotor."

Lotor manages a smile.

"It's okay."

They stay like that for a few minutes, wrapped up in each other as Lotor feels his life ebb away. His vision starts to fade when Lance suddenly pulls away.

"Wait. Blood! That's it!"

Lotor watches as Lance yanks his shirt over his head and leans down once more, guiding Lotor's face to the crook of his neck.

"I read somewhere that human blood can heal and lengthen a demon's life- that's why they keep killing people for it! C'mon, Lotor, take everything you need."

Lotor makes a face and tries to pull away, but Lance won't let him. He growls in frustration.

"I haven't drunk human blood in fifty years, Lance. I refuse to drink yours."

Lance only presses closer.

"Drink," he snaps. "I'm not letting you die just because you have principles."

When Lotor doesn't move to bite, Lance sighs and pulls away just far enough to meet Lotor's gaze.

"Please?" He whispers, picking up Lotor's limp hand and pressing a kiss to his knuckles. "For me? Don't leave me, Lotor."

Lotor's resolve fades away and Lance smiles smugly at him, knowing full well that he'd won. He guides Lance's face back to his neck and gently cups the back of his head.

"Go on. You promised to take me to the beach."

Lotor smiles, despite himself, and forces himself to open his mouth. He hesitates for a long moment before Lance nudges him. Finally accepting defeat, Lotor sinks his fangs into Lance's skin and moans.

Lance's blood was _divine _.

Maybe it was because he hadn't tasted human blood in so long, or maybe it was because he was on the brink of death. Whatever the reason, Lotor can't get enough. Demons are known to be insatiable, which is why Lotor stopped drinking human blood in the first place. He'd started to feel fond of them, and killing one every feeding started to turn his stomach. It was simply too difficult to stop in the middle.

Lotor moans, basking in Lance's taste and scent as he drinks. Slowly he starts to feel his limbs responding to his wishes, and he quickly takes advantage of it, wrapping his arms around Lance and sitting up, pulling him into his lap. Lance groans and wraps his own arms around Lotor's shoulders encouragingly, continuing to bare his neck.

Lotor feels his strength return to him. He doesn't look down, but he's pretty sure his wounds have sealed themselves. Human blood was so magical. He'd almost forgotten how wonderful it could be.

Lost in the powerful sensation, Lotor only pauses when he hears a faint whimper close to his ear. The sound snaps him back to reality, to the fact that this is _Lance _he's feeding off of. Lance, the man he loves. Lance, the human who saved him.

Lance, the one he's about to kill.

Lotor carefully extracts his fangs from Lance's neck and pulls back, shocked at the sudden pallor of Lance's skin. He feels bile burn his throat as he quickly stands up and lifts a semi-conscious Lance into his arms.

He doesn't know where to go. Back to the hotel? The hunters will surely be there. The hospital? He doesn't even know where to find it.

"Lotor?"

Lotor peers down at Lance, frantic, and finds that Lance is smiling up at him. He freezes as Lance reaches up to cup his cheek.

"You're okay."

Lotor swallows thickly and nods.

"Only because of you. You saved my life, Lance- and now I intend to save yours."

Lance beams up at him. He doesn't seem too concerned for someone who'd just lost a considerable amount of blood. Or maybe it was because of it?

"Am I a hero, then?"

Lotor blinks.

"Yes, of course."

Lance looks up at him thoughtfully.

"Then do I get a kiss? Heroes always get kissed at the end of the movie."

Despite his worry, Lotor can't help but snort.

"Does that mean I'm your damsel in distress?"

"Only if I'm your hero," Lance reasons.

Lotor's gaze softens.

"You most certainly are."

Lance looks very pleased by this and meets his eyes expectantly.

"Well? Where's my kiss?"

Lotor hesitates only for a moment before leaning down, closing his eyes and pressing their lips together.

They might not be out of the woods quite yet, and Lotor still has a lot of explaining to do. But now?

Lotor is pretty sure he's the closest to heaven he'll ever be.


End file.
